Bury St Edmunds free synthetic ice rink opens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony from town’s mayor Diane Hind

Bury St Edmunds mayor has marked the opening of the town’s long-awaited free synthetic ice rink with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

From today, visitors and residents of Bury can enjoy the festive attraction at the arc Shopping Centre, in Charter Square.

Our Bury St Edmunds, which runs the Business Improvement District (BID), has worked with a number of partners to ensure that there’s nothing to pay for all the sessions, including skate hire.

Sessions are available on a first-come-first-served basis, with no reservation necessary until Wednesday, January 3.

However, the rink will also be used by exclusive groups such as schools, community groups or businesses, who made bookings in advance.

Public skating will not be available at those times, but visitors can scan QR codes at the site to find out when the ice rink is booked.

The rink, which was opened in a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the town mayor, Diane Hind, was first enjoyed by school children from Riverwalk School, in Mayfield Road.

Cllr Hind said: “It’s really excellent to have something that’s free for people at a time when their spare cash is hard to find.

“This will give everyone an opportunity to come and skate for free.

“When people are so cash-strapped with the cost-of-living crisis, this can bring a little bit of joy that isn’t going to cost families any money.”

The Bury St Edmunds Family Christmas Ice Rink, which can cater for up to 25 skaters per session, will be open every day expect Christmas Day.

The synthetic ice rink can be enjoyed by skaters from 11am until 5pm, but on some days, it will be open until 8pm.

The attraction is part of the Christmas in Bury St Edmunds experience from a partnership hosting a variety of events from mid-November and throughout December.

Mark Cordell, chief executive of Our Bury St Edmunds, said the attraction was set-up to give back to the community and businesses.

He said: “We’ve been planning this since February and it has finally come to fruition.

“For us, it’s about getting people into the town, and with the cost-of-living crisis, we didn’t want people to be put off by having to pay.

“Christmas can be a costly time of year but this will offer a free activity in the town centre for families until the last day of the school holidays.

“There will be skate aids to help beginners so everyone can look forward to taking to the rink, whether or not they have skated before.”

The attraction, provided by Odin Events, will be one of the most advanced available giving the closest possible experience to real ice but without the environmental impact and high energy use of keeping the rink frozen.

For further information, including specific daily opening times, click here.

Although free of charge, donations can be made to Gatehouse which runs the town’s foodbank.